[image description: a hand holding four colorful, geometric-printed bookmarks.]

On the surface, bibliophiles are easy to buy for. Just buy them books.

But what if they’ve read the book already? How do you know if they’ll like it? What if it’s one they have no interest in whatsoever but feel forced to keep it on their shelf so they don’t offend the person who gave it to them?

Even being as obsessed with books as I am, there are still only scant few people I’d actually feel confident buying books for. Instead, I’ve found a way around this: get my fellow book nerds book-adjacent gifts.

I try to support small businesses as much as possible, so I’ve included a number of them on this list. However, there are some larger companies that are making cool bookish gifts too.

In no particular order, here are a couple of my favorite shops:
(No affiliate links, just places I like.)

Rather Keen

Pins! Totes! Stickers! And all with a fun bookish flare. I love the modern yet mid-century style.

Bookshelf Tees

The name says it all! Mr. Off the Beaten Shelf bought me the Reading Rainbow tee for our anniversary and I can’t begin to tell you how many compliments I get on it.

packagery

Three words: custom. book. labels! If the person you’re buying for likes to lend out their books, giving them custom book labels would be super cute.

Electric Literature

Electric Lit isn’t just a lit mag––they’ve got a rad shop too. They’ve got a literary version of Cards Against Humanity and some cute, sturdy totes. I love supporting them because they pay the writers they publish and the proceeds from their shop helps them do that.

Frostbeard Studio

You can give the gift of the old book smell without an old book with these bookish candles. In addition to the old book smell scent, they have other scents like Oxford Library, romance novel, reading at the cafe, and Sherlock’s study.

Whiskey River Soap Co.

The writer’s block soap is perfect for the writer in your life who has a sense of humor and is prone to self-deprecation. And it actually smells really good.

Chronicle Books

Chronicle is one of those publishers that makes gift books, stationery, novels, calendars, journals, a little bit of everything. They have an entire line of bibliophile goods, including ceramic vases that look like books!

Out of Print

With perhaps the exception of underwear and pants, Out of Print has your closet covered. T-shirts, sweatshirts, socks, totes, masks, pins, and more––all with cute library designs and public domain literature homages. I’ve got several of their pieces and it’s a good thing I’ve got a budget, otherwise, my entire wardrobe would be from there.

Litographs

Imagine being able to wear an entire book on your body. With Litographs, you can! They make t-shirts with public domain lit printed in tiny font. You can actually read the book on your clothes! They also make home goods like pillows, blankets, and posters with their designs. Heads up, if you go for a t-shirt, you definitely want to size up one or two sizes since it’s a stretchy material that runs small.

And there you have it! Nine of my favorite shops for bookish gifts that aren’t books. If you know of other places, please share! I’m always on the hunt for fun book nerd stuff.